China unearths ancient palace ruins

AFP, BEIJING

China has unearthed the ruins of an ancient palace near the tomb of the country’s first emperor that was already famed for its terracotta soldiers, Chinese state media said yesterday.

The discovery is the latest at the mausoleum, which dates back more than two millennia and became one of the greatest modern archeological finds after a peasant digging a well stumbled upon the life-size warriors in 1974.

LARGEST

The palace “is the largest complex ever found at the cemetery,” Xinhua news agency said, citing Sun Weigang (孫偉剛), a researcher at the archeology institute of northern Shaanxi Province, where the site is located.

Qin Shihuang (秦始皇), a ruler during the Qin Dynasty (221 BC to 207 BC), presided over China’s unification and declared himself its first emperor.

FOUNDATIONS

Based on its foundations, the palace is believed to extend 690m by 250m, nearly a quarter of the size of Beijing’s iconic Forbidden City, Xinhua said, citing Sun.

The Forbidden City at the heart of the capital served as an imperial palace for the Ming and Qing dynasties from the 14th century through the early 20th century.

The tomb-side palace “showed emperor Qin Shihuang’s wish to continue to live in imperial grandeur even during his afterlife,” Sun said.

The emperor ordered the building of the terra-cotta soldiers that surround the mausoleum in the hopes they would follow him into the afterlife.

HERITAGE

As many as 6,000 terra-cotta soldiers are believed to stand in the largest of three pits at the site, according to UNESCO, which declared the army a World Heritage Site in 1987.

Archeologists uncovered 110 new warriors in June this year, along with 12 pottery horses, parts of chariots, weapons and tools, in part of a three-year effort.